A Dictionary of Choice Ferns. 
279 
extend. The best plan is to fix round the pillar a 
wire cylinder of 2in. to 3in. mesh, which should be 
filled up, as the rhizomes extend, with a mixture of 
two parts of fibrous peat and one of sphagnum, 
rammed tolerably close. For hiding pillars, walls, 
or unsightly upright supports, the Oleandras are 
quite as useful as the better-known Davallias, and 
do not require any more special attention; although 
not perhaps quite such rapid growers, they possess 
the advantage of retaining their foliage longer than 
is the case with most Davallias. All the species 
known to cultivation require stove treatment and 
abundance of water at the roots throughout their 
growing season, and they are greatly benefited by 
occasional syringings overhead during the summer. 
Although Oleandras may be propagated from spores, 
they are usually increased by division of the rhi- 
zomes between April and September. 
O. articulata. 
An evergreen species^ native of Natal, the Maseiarene 
Islands, the Seychelles, and the Guinea Coast; it is specially 
adapted for growing on small pyramids of peat. Its simple, 
undivided fronds are produced about 2in. apart, from firm, 
more or less upright, wide-climbing rhizomes, from which 
they hang gracefully. They are borne on slender stalks lin. 
to 2m. long, with the joint close to the base, and their 
leafy portion. Gin. to 12in. long, IJin. to 2in. broad, and 
of a somewhat leathery nature, has the midrib beneath 
slightly scaly. The sori in this species form two irregular 
rows of orange-brown dots, often some distance from the 
midrib. This is one of the smallest-habited plants of the 
genus, and looks well covering the stem of a dead Tree 
Fern. Its foliage is of a pleasing shade of light green, and 
the. veining is exceedingly pretty. 
O. nodosa. 
A beautiful, free-growing species, native of the West 
Indies and Guiana, where it has been found covering the 
stems of dead trees. It is readily distinguishable from all 
others by the trailing nature and satiny gloss of its shoots, 
and by the disposition of its fructification, which is irregu- 
larly scattered. ■ The plant is of medium size, of a cheerful, 
bright green colour, and easily cultivated, especially when 
planted on partly-decayed vegetable matter. The veining 
of the fronds is particularly attractive and very conspicuous 
when seen from below, as they are of a semi-transparent, 
